10 Years of The Age of Riesling
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10 Years of The Age of Riesling


Many of you know from previous posts that I'm a huge fan of German and Austrian wines. Their rieslings (from both countries) and grüner veltliners (from Austria) are very flexible with food. Just ask any wine director worth their salt. Good German wines have an ethereal quality that makes them unlike any other wines on the planet. It wasn't until I tried a Donnhoff Spatlese that I really understood what my first wine teacher meant by a wine having balance.

I trace my passion to one event, and the three people who organized it: Debbie Zachareas, wine director of bacar; Terry Theise, who imports some of the very best samples of these wines; and Bill Mayer, who is perhaps the best retail source for these wines. Bill runs his business, The Age of Riesling, from his modest home in North Berkeley. This can make things awkward when you order wine, since you're not going to a storefront. Indeed, the wine isn't even stored at his home, so he has to schedule time to pick it up from his warehouse. It's worth the effort. Bill's a great guy (and a published poet), and his selection just can't be beat.

He recently celebrated his 10-year anniversary, and decided to have a tasting. He hasn't had a tasting in a while, and he needed to clear out his inventory for the 2003 arrivals, en route from Europe now. He held the tasting at Subterraneum, where Melissa and I store our wines. We bundled up more wine for the storage facility, and headed to the tasting.

That's me in the foreground, scribbling notes. Young wine snob, hard at work

I'm not going to give you tasting notes on all the wines: there were 55 bottles, and you'd be bored to tears by the end of it. I won't even tell you all my "plusses", since there were about 20 of those. I'll call out a few at random.

His recommended order for the wines was surprising, since he put red wines at the front. "I just think the white wines are more complex," he told me when I asked him about it. He's right; Germany and Austria aren't known for their red wines (though they do make some), and there's a reason. In general I found them only moderately interesting.

Here's a 5-second lesson about German designators. Germans (and to some extent Austrians) designate quality wines based on the ripeness of the grapes at harvest. This often but not always corresponds to sweetness in the final wine. In increasing order of ripeness, the levels are: Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese (BA), Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA). Eiswein is a separate beast usually harvested between BA and TBA. BA, TBA, and eiswein are all dessert wines. Auslese is not quite a dessert wine (I often serve it with cheese or a light dessert), and Spatlese and Kabinetts are good solid dinner-time fare. And don't start with me about non-dessert German wines being "too sweet". Some are, but the best examples balance this so nicely with acidity that you don't even notice it. It's worth remembering that in Germany, it's a struggle just to get ripe grapes, so the good ones aren't that sweet. Besides, chances are you've got some sweetness on your dinner plate: vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers, fruit accompaniments, even caramelization all offer up some sugar.

2002 Erdener Treppchen Kabinett, Ernst Loosen (Riesling) - The Meulenhof Erdener Treppchen is one of my favorite wines, but Dr. Loosen's rendition is quite nice as well. It's a classic example of Riesling from the Mosel river, considered by many to be Germany's best wine region. Aromas of petrol and slate with pear and spice in the background. The pear and spice are more pronounced on the palate, framed by an exuberant and playful acidity. The wine has a nice long finish that really lets you enjoy it.

1997 Saarburger Rausch Auslese, Zilliken (Riesling) - German riesling ages very well, especially the wines made from riper grapes, and this was in nice shape. A nose of floral soap became Italian parsley on the finish, with a nice balance of sweetness and prickly acidity.

1998 Piri, Nigl (Grüner Veltliner) - Well-balanced aromas of dust and green forest. A sharp but short acidity gives way to melon which lingers for a medium-long finish.

Melissa and I ended up with a case, mostly of the wines that were available at reduced prices for that day only. There were plenty more we wanted to buy, but we're holding off; we still have to see how the 2003 vintage did. As in the rest of Europe, the record-breaking heat waves made this an "unusual" vintage in Germany. I expect there'll be plenty of wines at the higher end of the ripeness scale, but not a lot of dessert wines, because the heat prevented botrytis from forming.





- A Love Song For Old Rieslings
It doesn't look like a white wine as it oozes into the glass. Instead of a bare tint of yellow, the 30-year-old liquid has become saturated with a hue of light caramel. Instead of apple, pine, and almost-harsh mineral aromas, you smell wax and lanolin...

- Terry Theise In The New York Times
The New York Times features a profile of one of my favorite wine importers, Terry Theise. The article focuses on Terry's Austrian portfolio, but he's also one of the best importers of German wines. Quotes pour like glittering jewels from his mouth...

- Wbw 18: The Age Of Riesling
Bill Mayer overlooking Germany's Mosel River Photo by Melissa Schneider. His Subject Is Fine German and Austrian Wines If you chat with Bill Mayer at the Berkeley Farmer's Market where he shops, you might think he's a Berkeley professor....

- Wtn: 1998 Nigl Gruner Veltliner, Sentfenberger Piri, Krepmstal, Austria
2003 Nigl Gruner Veltliner, Sentfenberger Piri, Krempstal, Austria When Melissa and I went to the 10-year anniversary tasting for The Age of Riesling, we bought roughly a case of wine. Bill Mayer used the event as a chance to sell off his older inventory,...

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Champagne and Venison "Challenge your notions about food and wine!" said the e-mail from bacar, a snazzy wine bar in San Francisco's SOMA district. Their first-ever wine & food pairing for the general public was going to feature...



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